“Why are you writing about Friends? It’s dumb and girly.” — my daughter, age 9.

This is what I said (more or less):

People have been deriding Lego’s girl-centric Friends line as being, well, dumb and girly, but Lego fans like it for two very cool reasons. First, it has lots of unusual and unique parts, many of a domestic nature like bowls and turkey legs. A lot of the models are pastel colored, which most of Lego’s boy-centric sets won’t include. These factors increase the things Lego builders can do with their bricks.

The second reason is that like all Lego, it is what you make of it. So what if you don’t like the storyline — invent your own. If the models are lame, design one you think is cooler.

Yvonne Doyle’s Science Class model details a Friends set that ought to exist but doesn’t. The detail in the model is absolutely spot on — my favorite detail is the Erlenmeyer flasks made from jewels and 1×1 round plates. If you like this one, also check out Yvonne’s Gym Class.